


Untitled post season one rewrite

by Pdxtrent



Series: A Series of Unfortunate Chapters [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Beacon Hills is not a good thing, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Derek gets a pack, Derek gets some good things, Derek leaves town after s1, F/M, Gen, I hate the Argents, M/M, Stiles might be a good thing, a lot of dead people - Freeform, when he grows up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:02:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29356143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pdxtrent/pseuds/Pdxtrent
Summary: This is the fourth in a series of first chapters I've written over the last couple of years. Sort of a glance into my 'work in gestation' file.Some of these have been mentioned in various chapter notes, like the Stiles and Bucky story, some of them have only been mentioned to my long suffering friends. I make no guarantees these will ever progress past a first chapter, but feel free to ask questions and make comments on them. Answering questions a lot of times will shake loose my thoughts on a particular project, and cause me to go back and tinker with them.I'm calling them my 'Series of (Un)fortunate Chapters.I've had bits of this idea for a LONG time. Maybe before I even started Nemeton's Shade. But it's been slow gestating and there's large parts of it that are still in the 'something goes here around xxx' stage.It's basically 'what if Derek left town after he bit Jackson and Jackson refused to join his pack?' So, the nightmare version of s2.
Relationships: Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Derek Hale & Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski, Sheriff Stilinski & Stiles Stilinski
Series: A Series of Unfortunate Chapters [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2156343
Comments: 20
Kudos: 33





	Untitled post season one rewrite

Peter was dead, and Derek had a debt to pay. “If I do this, you’ll be in my pack. Like family. Like blood.” He said to Jackson, looking him straight in the eyes with an intensity that he knew some humans found profoundly disturbing. It was one of those times when his inhumanity was most noticable. 

Jackson hesitated for a moment, and something seemed to shift in him before he said,“Just do it. Like you promised Hale. You owe me.” 

Derek hesitated for a moment. But it was for the best, not just because an alpha needed a pack, but as a way to eliminate the danger of Jackson spilling what he knew. Once Jackson was on the inside, he’d have an interest in keeping what he knew quiet. He nodded and then lunged forward and sank his teeth in. 

The Bite. Nothing had prepared him for the intimacy of it. It wasn’t sexual, but he felt pulled towards the boy as soon as his teeth sank in, like he was standing revealed and seen. Naked in his soul, and more vulnerable than he'd been since his family died.

“FUCK.” Jackson said between clenched teeth. 

“It’ll heal in a couple of hours.” Derek said.

“And how long before I’m a werewolf?” 

“The only experience with bitten wolves I have is Scott, but when I saw him the next day I could already tell he was, so less than a day.” 

“The speed? The strength?” 

“And the senses. You’ll need to learn control. Come by the house after practice. We can work on it together.” 

“Fuck you Hale. I’m no ones lackey. McCall is a moron. If he can figure this out so can I.” And he turned and walked out the door leaving Derek alone again. A moment later he heard the car pull out of the driveway, leaving him alone again.

And that? It was the last straw. 

Peter, then McCall, and now Jackson. He couldn’t keep trying to care anymore. He knew hunters would come. The Argents were a big clan and Kate had been the matriarch’s sister in law. They’d come, and they’d come in numbers and they’d come looking for blood. And he just couldn’t stay any longer. He couldn't keep trying to build something on the ashes of his past. Maybe he was the problem, or maybe it was time to start somewhere new.

Either way, he was done trying.

****

He stood outside the Stilinski house for awhile. The sheriff was gone and he could hear Stiles on the phone, talking with someone who sounded like it must be Scott. So he waited. Finally Stiles hung up the phone and Derek vaulted onto the roof and tapped on the windows glass. A few minutes later it opened cautiously. 

“Derek?” Stiles said in surprise. 

“I’m leaving.” Derek said awkwardly. Everything about Stiles made him feel awkward. The idiot kid was foolishly brave for someone who was as weak and defenseless in the supernatural world as he was. And yet-, there was something else in there as well. Derek found himself respecting someone who understood the concept of pack so clearly. Even if he was clearly terrified by Derek, try as he might to hide it.

“Leaving-?” 

“Beacon Hills.” Derek said. “The city. The county. Probably the state.” 

“Why?” 

“Why would I stay? There’s nothing left for me here. I’m the last. What the Argents didn’t kill, Peter did. Scott's made it clear he thinks he’s fine without me. I gave Jackson the Bite like I promised, but he doesn’t want anything to do with me either.” 

“So you’re just leaving.” 

“It’s better than waiting around for this place to kill me too.” He looked away, “Maybe I’ll head back to New York. Or maybe LA. Someplace. I’ll build a pack, a life, and try to forget this place exists.” He said with a lie. He was done with cities. Laura had loved cities. He loved the vast spaces between them and hoped to never look at a building taller than three stories again.

“Why’d you come here then?” 

Derek shrugged. “To say goodbye. You don’t like me, but you saved my life. You hid me from your dad. I owe you a goodbye at least.” 

Stiles was quiet. “You still owe me the end of the explanation about how packs work.” 

“They work because of the effort you put into them. Because you love them. Because you believe in them. Because you’ll bleed for them, and they’ll bleed for you. That’s why I’m leaving. I can’t find that here.” 

“You also promised to tell me about New York.” 

“It’s big. It smells. It snows a lot in the winter. You’re always cold in California. You’ll hate it there. What’s this all about?” 

“Would you stay if I asked?” 

“You hate me too, so why would you ask?” 

“You scare me but I don’t hate you.” Stiles argued. He was always arguing. 

“No one asks their fears to stick around. No one wants that.” Derek said, exhausted by everything. 

“Maybe I do.”

“You don’t.” Derek said, more confident than he felt.

“I don’t know.” 

“I do.” He looked away, towards the sounds of the distant freeway. “Warn Scott the Argents will come. More of them. Probably Gerard.” He said looking back at the boy. “And they won’t care that he’s dating Allison. And they won’t care he hasn’t killed anyone. If they find him, they’ll kill him.” 

"So that’s why you’re really leaving.” Stiles said, and made it an accusation.

“Why should I stay? To die for people who hate me? He told me my family deserved to die. He was willing to leave me to Kate Argent until I promised to keep Allison safe. He accused me of murder twice.” He looked away again. “That’s not how pack works. Pack is about loyalty. I tried to make him understand, that there’s just the hunters and the hunted. When the hunters come, the only thing you can do is hide and hope they don’t find you and that they go away eventually.” 

Stiles just looked at him for awhile, then said, “Could it have been different?” 

Derek shrugged, “He’s stupid in love. In love with a hunter. I've already tried that. And I’m angry about Laura. About Peter. I'm just angry. So no, probably not.” 

“I kind of like you when you’re not all growly and angry.” 

“I’m always angry.” Derek said softly, “My pack is gone. My family is gone. Anger is all I have left.” 

“Will you call me?” Stiles said suddenly. “If you need something. Even if it’s just to talk.” 

Derek smiled slightly, “I won’t. You’re the one who always needs to talk.” 

“Rude.” 

“True.” 

There was silence for a moment as they looked at each other, neither quite ready to look away. “I would have done it.” Stiles finally said. “Your arm. I would have cut it off. I was terrified. But I wasn’t going to let you die.” 

“I know.” 

“What?” He said, clearly startled. “How?”

“You’re more than you think you are. You do what you think needs to be done. You were my first choice, once I saw you.”

“Will you call?” 

“Probably not.” Derek said, and he wasn’t sure if it was true. “You’re probably better off without me.” 

“Just-“ Stiles said, then paused, “just let me know you’re safe. Otherwise I’ll just worry that you’re out there and need an arm cut off, or a place to hide out. And if you ever do need a hide-out again, you know where to find me.” 

“I’ll be fine.” Derek said.

“Just do it. Say it.” The boy said. “Please.” 

Derek was quiet, touched in some way. “Okay.” He finally said. “I’ll touch base occasionally. Don’t expect it too often.” 

“Once a month.” 

“Once a year.” 

“Once a week.” 

“Once.” 

“Fine. When you can. When you’re safe. And-“ he hesitated, “even if you’re not.” 

“I’m a werewolf. An alpha without a pack. That’s a target on my back for anyone who wants that power. I’m never going to be safe.” He nodded one last time then flashed out the window before Stiles could respond.

*****

  
  
  


It had happened a lot like Derek had said, Stiles thought, and an inevitable comparison to Cassandra of Troy popped into his head. Though it actually starts with Lydia going missing. 

Stiles was with his dad two nights later when she comes stumbling out of the woods and he tries to figure out if she’s shifted from Peter’s bite, but she claims to remember nothing except a voice in the darkness calling her name.

When Gerard Argent showed up for Kate’s funeral, Stiles remembered the name and warned Scott about the man, who screamed slightly sinister to all of Stiles’s instincts. 

With his arrival the Argents grow even more cold towards Scott. Chris even stopped Scott at the grocery store one day and tells him that as long as he leaves Allison alone he’ll be safe. When Scott tells Stiles about it later, he almost doesn’t point out that the threat doesn’t sound much like following any kind of code, because he already knows Scott won’t listen, but he has to try. He doesn't listen.

And when he tried to warn her, neither does Allison.

It’s not even two days after that before the two are arranging to meet up in secret. In the woods. In abandoned classrooms. Scott says they’re ‘star crossed’ and thinks it’s romantic. Stiles, who actually bothered to read it freshman year, remembers allof Romeo and Juliet and hopes Scott is wrong. That the idiotic choices of two kids don't end up costing the lives of everyone around them because of a stupid feud. But it does seem a curiously apt metephor the more he thought about it. 

The first body shows up just a few days later. 

It’s a bizarre case to be honest. A homeless man cut in half. With. A. Sword. And Stiles just thought, 'What the fuck?'

If the last few months hadn’t given him his fill of dead bodies Stiles would have no doubt tried to sneak into the morgue though, because when are you going to see that again?

When Isaac Lahey’s father died and Isaac goes missing, it’s presumed he killed his father and fled town. Even if Lahey’s death looks more like an animal attack. The second manhunt in as many months commences, and his dad started skipping meals and working late late into the night again. 

It’s the day Stiles takes the Jeep into the shop and his mechanic is killed by a weird freaky lizard thing that Stiles realized something was very very wrong. Because that was nothing like he'd ever heard of. 

He looked at Derek's phone number. Coming so close to dialing it so many times.

One day after lacrosse Jackson shoved him against his Jeep so hard that Stiles bruised across his back where he hit the Jeep, and had another bruise on his chest where Jackson pushed him. 

“Wheres Hale?” He said, getting right up into Stiles’s face. And Stiles thought for a moment he saw a light flicker in the other boys eyes. 

“He left.” Stiles said. “And I’m not his secretary. Maybe you shouldn’t have been such a dick when he gave you the Bite. It’s supposed tobe a gift you waste of space.” 

“It’s not working.” Jackson hissed getting even closer. “I keep getting these nose bleeds, but it’s black and smells.” 

“Probably just your rancid soul showing through Jackson, Scott never had that problem.” 

Jackson shoved him back into the Jeep again and started to walk away. “Tell Hale I need to talk to him.” 

“Are you deaf?” Stiles said, wincing at the pain in his back. “I said he left. He’s gone. Probably halfway back to New York by now. Or maybe South America. Far away from your ungrateful ass.” 

“You don’t understand anything about me Stilinski.” 

“Wah wah, poor little rich boy. Does mommy and daddy not love you enough? Let me find a tear to wipe away.” 

This time Stiles is ready when Jackson lunges for him. He’s been helping Scott for long enough that anything short of werewolf speed is not too fast for him when he's prepared.

Jackson’s fist smashes into the side of the Jeep and Jackson jumps back screaming in pain as Danny and one of the other players come running up.

“What the fuck Jackson?” Danny said.

“Me?” Jackson said, white with rage, gripping his hand, “That little shit needs to shut the fuck up!” 

Moments later things get even worse when Principal Thomas and Ms Fleming come up and it turns out they witnessed the whole thing. 

The resulting meeting with the Stiles, Jackson, their parents, and Principal Thomas with Ms Morrell the guidance counselor was excruciating. And the fallout was worse. Stiles tried to play it off as a disagreement that escalated. But his dad and Miss Morrell were adamant that things needed to change going forward. It turns out Morrell had already noticed the hostility between the boys, and she demanded that both start seeing her for an hour a week to deal with their issues and anger.

Additionally, Stiles and Jackson were given schedules that were completely different. Which meant Stiles lost the two classes he still had with Scott. As a slight win, there no more Harris because he was put into the advanced science classes taught by Ms Finch, where Principal Thomas had already wanted him. 

His dad and Mr Whittemore agreed to work out between themselves a punishment involving community service for their sons since the actual fight had been after school and after activities. 

The last part was the worst. Stiles was off the lacrosse team altogether, and Jackson lost his captaincy. Scott was the sole captain now. 

Mrs Whittemore, unknown to Stiles, turned out to be one of the librarians at the public library, and said they could use Stiles as a volunteer after school, and his dad said he’d find work for Jackson at the sheriffs station.

That was the first time he tried to call Derek’s phone number. 

Which was disconnected. 

The next body was Principal Thomas’s. He was found in an abandoned building in the old industrial section of downtown Beacon Hills in an apparent carjacking gone wrong. When Gerard Argent showed up the next day to replace him in a temporary capacity Stiles starts to get suspicious about the carjacking. And the mounting body count. But the four deaths don’t seem connected. Not even to Stiles, though he knows they are somehow. 

Stiles couldn’t imagine the weird lizard thing was using a sword or being involved in a carjacking, but he couldn't figure out how they connected otherwise. Unless it was two killers working together somehow?

Scott is busy at the clinic and Stiles’s free time is mostly taken up at the library and his increased homework load.

A persistent annoyance is that Lydia has returned to ignoring him, but in a much more deliberate fashion this time. 

Then the next animal attack victim is discovered. A guy in survival gear with tactical knives and a gun is found in the preserve partially decomposed. And the gear and location scream Argent Hunter to Stiles.

This is when he buys the first whiteboard and his dad starts working even more late hours. 

Things at school start to change, and Stiles starts to really worry, though Scott is sure that the remaining Argents will continue to follow their code. Kate, he keeps saying, was the aberration. 

Scott remains convinced when the cameras appear everywhere. He remains convinced when Victoria appears in the administrative office. The brief hiatus when Erica Reyes died while climbing the climbing wall during PE and Gerard was put on a brief suspension is short lived, though it’s also when Gerard seems to finally realize that Scott is a werewolf and the problems grow. 

They find the body of Isaac Lahey locked in a freezer in his fathers basement. Isaac had been the leading suspect in his fathers death, and a person of interest in the other apparent animal attacks. But it turned out he had been locked in the basement when his father had died, and no one had thought to check inside the locked freezer until a deputy noticed the smell while checking the house for him. 

It’s while looking at the victims obituaries that Stiles finally noticed the connection. 

And that’s the point where he finally decides tell his father about what’s really been going on, and shit really goes south. 

His father looks exhausted. Stiles knows he hasn’t been eating well, or sleeping enough. He finds an evening Scott isn’t working and demands his presence. Cashing in all the favors Stiles had done to help Scott and Allison he asks Scott to join them one night when his dad to come home for dinner. 

His father doesn’t take it well. Finding out your son’s best friend has turned into a terrifying creature of the night takes some adjustment. 

After Scott left, Stiles pulls out the obituaries and the yearbook his dad clams up.

“Just give me one minute dad.” 

“Stiles I’ve got a whole team of deputies to look into this.” 

“Right, and you noticed they all graduated the same year, and that Mr Lahey was the swim coach that year. Except Bennett Taylor who graduated the year after.” 

“Yes, we noticed that, but most people around here did, and we can’t find a connection between them.” 

“That’s because you don’t work at the gossip central of the county.” Stiles said. "So thanks for that unfair punishment, because that's what gave me the answer." 

His father paused, “Go on.” 

“When Isaac was found, Amanda Pearson’s mom came in and was talking to Mrs Whittemore. She mentioned that Mr Lahey was not asked to continue as swim coach because he got cited for providing alcohol to minors and for throwing a party for his state champion swim team.” 

“Right.” His dad said nodding, “we saw that in his record.” 

Stiles dropped Sean Long’s obituary on the desk, “200m butterfly state champion 2006.” He said, then dropped Tucker’s “A dirty cheat of a mechanic, but 100m freestyle and 200m freestyle state champion 2006.” 

He dropped Bennett’s, the odd one of the bunch. “Now Bennett wasn’t a swimmer. He did football. But I looked at the 2006 yearbook and there’s a photo of him with Michelle Sink who he apparently dated pretty seriously. And look at that, she was breaststroke champion 2006.” 

His dad gave him an impressed look, “That’s very good work.” 

“I think something happened, and the rest of the swim team is here.” He handed the sheet of names over. “But before you go tearing into this, I have something else to tell you.” 

“Oh god. I’m sitting back down.” His dad said. 

Stiles was silent for a minute, trying to organize his thoughts.

“The longer you’re quiet the worse I’m sure this is.” His dad said.

“Accurate.” Stiles said then added, “I lied to you at the garage. I saw what killed Tucker. It was some kind of lizard thing.” 

“A werewolf?” 

“No. Not a werewolf. It had like scales and a tail and paralyzing venom in its claws.” 

“Stiles.” His dad said, skepticism in his voice.

“I’m serious dad. I have a theory. What if Scott had held a grudge, and when he became a werewolf he used his powers to get revenge.” Stiles said. “Only instead of Scott, it’s someone else. And they're the wierd lizard thing.” 

“Who?” His dad asked. 

“I don’t know. Neither Jackson or Lydia have turned into a werewolf yet, though they were both bitten. I can maybe see one of them things going wrong, but both of them? Or it could just be correlation and not connected. But just please be careful while you're looking into this. I’m trying to figure out what it is, but I haven’t found anything yet. I wish Derek was here. Even if just to bounce questions off of about which of these sites have information that is and isn’t accurate.” 

“I noticed your face when Scott was talking about the Argents and their code.” 

“Supposed code.” Stiles muttered. “Chris shot Scott like two days after he was bit in the forest for no reason. And I think Argents are connected to the Principal’s death. you told me once when you invesitgate a murder to look who benefitted. Well,they’re the ones who benefited. But it's not financial, so it didn't show up when you looked into it. And when was the last time someone driving a Camry was carjacked?” 

“That’s a heavy accusation.” His dad said. 

“I know. And worse, there's no evidence. But his death was absolutely pivotal to Argent becoming the interim principal, and the man was here and ready to take over. I just get an itch in my back every time I catch Gerard or Allison’s mom looking at me.” 

“Keep watching them then, but don’t let them know you’re watching. If they’re guilty, they’ll reveal themselves in time.” 

Stiles nodded, “Just be careful around them. And if I go missing, check their basement or garage or something first.” 

His dad got a look. “If I got you a gps tracker, would you keep it on you. Just until this is all over?” 

Stiles thought about it, then nodded. “But disguised. Not something someone would think to take off me.” 

“I’ll talk to Rafe McCall.” 

“Ugh. hate him.” 

“I know kid. But he has access to equipment I don't. And you just-“ his Dad looked at him. “just be careful okay?” 

“I’ll try.” 

“There’s no chance I can hire Hale to come back and be your bodyguard and babysitter? If he’s like some super werewolf?” 

“‘Fraid not dad. I think maybe we misjudged him a lot. I keep thinking about things, you know? And his life has been pretty shitty. Yeah he was an asshole, but his sister had just died and we got him arrested for it. Then the whole manhunt thing. Like he had a lot of reason to be angry.” 

“So you’re saying you feel bad about it?” 

“Yeah. Scott doesn’t see it. But, you know, his life sort of sucks and we kind of made it a lot worse.” 

“Maybe he’ll come back someday.” 

“I don’t think so.” Stiles said. “I think he’s gone for good. There's no reason for him to come back, and about fifty for him to stay gone.” 

His dad leaves to head back to the station to put together a plan to deal with the new direction of his investigation and Stiles starts idly searching online for information about his weird reptile man.

A reference on one of the subreddits he followed caught his eye. BB45Skooz on urban cryptid forum he followed had posted a comment almost five years before and referenced the Beacon Hills County Library Special Collection.

But Stiles worked at the Beacon County Library. 

There was no special collection there that he’d ever heard of.

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I know a lot about this story. like an insane amount. but there's some huge parts still gestating, especially concerning events in 3A. I can say that 3B and beyond won't happen here, and you can likely guess why.


End file.
